Shielded waterproof electrical connectors



SHIELDED WATERPROOF ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS Filed May '7, 1952 FIG. LZ?

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United States Patent SHIELDED WATERPROOF ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS John J.Phillips, Irvington, N. J., assigner to TiteeX, line., Newark, N. J., acorporation of Massachusetts Application May 7, 1952, Serial No. 236,462

7 Claims. (Cl. 339-94) This invention relates to multiple pin and socketelectrical connectors, and more particularly to a fluid-tightconstruction in which the conductors are sealed by compressednon-metallic elements, but the assembly is covered by detachable metalparts that maintain adequate radio shielding.

It is an object of this invention to provide an electrical connector inwhich the same fastening means clamps nonmetallic sealing elementstogether under a controlled pressure at the same time that it clampsmetal faces of an outside casing together rmly enough for good radioshielding. In the preferred construction, the non-metallic sealingelements come into contact ahead of the metal parts and have springmeans that yield to permit continued movement of the metal faces towardone another while maintaining the pressure of the sealing elements.

Another object is to provide an electrical connector with a plurality ofconductors and separate seals around each of the conductors held underpressure by the fastening ele ments that hold the radio shielding of theassembly.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear orbe pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like referencecharacters indicate corresponding parts in all the views,

Figure l is a sectional view of an electrical connector embodying thisinvention,

Figures 2 and 3 are sectional views taken on the lines 2-2 and 3-3respectively, of Figure l, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view at the plane 4 4 of Figure l, with the pinwire in the process of being inserted during initial assembly of theconnector.

The connector comprises two cooperating sections, including a socketsection 11 and a pin section 12. The socket section has a metal shell 13with a concave, annular end face 15 which abuts against a complementaryconvex end face of a metal shell 16 of the pin section 12.

There is a nut 17 with threads 18 that screw over co1'- respondingthreads on the outside of the metal shell 13. This nut has a polygonalange 19 for receiving a wrench. The nut 17 is rotatably connected to themetal shell 16 by a ring 21 which ts into annular channels in theconfronting faces of the nut 17 and the metal shell 16.

The nature of the ring 21 will be better understood by reference toFigure 4. The channel in the nut 17 is indicated by the referencecharacter 23. The comple` mentary channel in the metal shell 16 isindicated by the reference character 24. There is a sloping opening 26through the top of the channel 23 for the insertion of the ring 21. Thisring, which is originally a straight Wire, is pushed lengthwise throughthe opening 26, and the wire takes the circular shape of the chamberwhich is formed by the confronting channels 23 and 24. The wire is of apredetermined length to lill the circumferential extent of the channels,and it ts loosely enough to leave the nut 17 free to rotate with'respectto the shell 16,

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although conlining the nut against axial movement onltlr shell.

Referring again to Figure l, it will be apparent that screwing the nut17 on the threads ISdraWS the face 15 of the shell 13 into rin contactwith the complementary face of the metal shell 16 so that the shells 13and 1 6 provide effective radio shielding around the parts enclosedwithin them. Each of the shells 13 and 16 has a polygonal flange 27 forreceiving a wrench.

The shell 16 encloses a core 28 which has a cylindrical section 29 ofreduced diameter, slidably fitting in a bore of the shell 16. The core28 also has a larger diameter section 30 which slidably fits within acylindrical counterbore 32 of the shell 16. In order to prevent the core2S from turning in the shell 16, and to always ensure that it will beinserted into the shell at the same phase angle, there is a longitudinalfin 34 on the inside of the counterbore 32. This longitudinal n titsinto a keyway in the core 28 and selves the function of a key.

An O-ring 36 is conlined in a recess in the insidewall of the shell 16,and this O-ring acts as a seal between the metal shell 16 and the core28 so that fluid, such as gas or liquid, cannot pass between the shelland core and thereby enter the interior of the connector where the conductor elements are located.

The core 28 has as many parallel bores 38 as there are circuits to beincluded in the connector. Each of the bores 3S receives a pin 39 of anelectrical element 41. At one end of the pin 39, the electric element 41has a head portion 42 of larger diameter than the pin 39. The headportion lits slidably in a counterbore 40 at one end of the bore 38, andabuts against the shoulder at the end of the counterbore. There is arecess in the outer end of the head portion 42 for receiving anelectrical com ductor comprising a wire 43. The Wire is soldered orotherwise secured to the head portion 42.

There is insulation around the wire 43 and this insula, tion extends toapproximately the end face of the head porti-on 42. In order to seal thewire securely, a tapered sleeve 44 surrounds the wire, and this taperedsleeve 44 fits into a correspondingly tapered end of the counter@ bore40.

The tapered sleeve 44 has a shoulder 48 and a reduced diameter stern 49beyond the shoulder. There are similar tapered sleeves surrounding thewires leading to all of the pins 39 of the connector. In theconstruction illus-` trated, there are two such pins, but the number ofpins depends upon the number of circuits which the con* nector isdesigned to provide. One of the advantages of the invention is that itis particularly well suited for connectors having large numbers of wiresand it provides a separate effective seal for each of the wires.

This seal is provided by having a clamping plate 51 with openingsthrough which the stems 49 of the sleeves 44 extend. The clamping platebears against the shoulder 4S at the base of each of the stems 49 andforces the tapered sleeves 44- itiward against the tapered faces of thecouuterbores 40. The core 28 and each of the tapered sleeves 44 ispreferably made of plastic dielectric material which is slightlycompressible, such as rubber, certain resins, and many of the syntheticplastic materials. The length of the tapered sleeves 44, to theirshoulders 48,- is slightly longer than the corresponding taper of thecounteibores 40 so that when the tapered sleeves 44 are uncompressed,their shoulders 48 are slightly beyond the end face of the core 23.

When the clamping plate 51 is pushed inward, it distorts the taperedsleeves 44 sutliciently to clamp them intoiim contact with both thecountcrbore 40 and the outside surface of the insulation on the wire 43;and with the clamping plate 5l still spaced by some clearan'cefroin' theend face of the core 28.

The cable which contains the wires 43 is surrounded by shielding S3having an end fitting 54. This end fitting 54 has` a convex, annular endface which abuts against a complementary concave, annular face 55 at theouter end of the metal shell 16. There is a liange 57 extending fromthe-fitting 54. A clamping nut oil has an inwardly extending ange whichengages behind the ange 57 of the shielding fitting 54. Threads of theclamping nut 6i) screw over corresponding threads 63 on the outer endportion of the metal shell 16. When the clamping nut 60 is tightened, itpulls the shielding htting 5.4i into rm contact with the end face 5S ofthe metal shell 16 and provides a tight and highly satisfactoryconnection in the radio shielding.

The clamping plate Si is pushed against the shoulders 48 of the taperedsleeves by a helical spring 65. One end of this spring 65 is in contactwith the clamping plate 5S, and the other end bears against a shoulderin the tting 54. The spring 65 transmits a strong pressure from thefitting S4 to the clamping plate 51, and permits the same clamping nut6i) to provide the pressure of the tting S4 against the shell face 55,and of the clamping plate 51 against the shoulders 4S of the taperedsleeves d4. This construction is simple and docs not require accuratemanufacturing tolerances in order to obtain a predetermined clampingpressure from the clamping plate 51 when the litting 54 is clampedtightly against the endface 55 of the shell 16.

The construction of the socket section lll ol the connector is generallysimilar to that ofthe pin section already described. The socket sectionhas a core 63 corresponding to the core 2S of the pin section but with areduceddiameter, cylindrical section 69 which is longer than thecorresponding section 29 of the pin section. The reason for thisdifference in construction is to permit the core 68 to surround thesockets into which the pins 39 extend when the connector is assembled.The core 28 extends beyond the end of its surrounding metal shell 1.3and into the end of the metal shell 16 of the pin section. ln order toensure that the same pins will always engage in the Same sockets, thereis a keyvay 'Il in the extending end `of the core 68, and an inwardlyprojecting ridge '72 of the inside wall of the metal shell i6 serves asa key in the keyway 71.

Electrical elements '75, of the socket section of the connector,correspond to the electric elements 41 of the pin section except thatthe ends of the electrical elements 75 are formed hollow with resilientwalls so as to form sockets 76 into which the pins 39 are inserted toprovide electric contact for each of the circuits through the connector.

The inner end. face of the core 63, which confronts the inner end faceof the core 22%, has sealing means comprising an annular bead 7S. Thecore 63, and preferably both of the cores 68 and 2S, are made of plasticdielectric material which is slightly comprcssible so that when theconfronting end faces of the cores are pressed rmly together, theannular bead 7S is distorted slightly, as necessary, to provide aneffective seal against iluid, such as gas or water. Thus any tluid whichpasses between the face 1S and the complementary face of the outershells, or which passes the O-rings 36, is prevented from reaching theelectric conductors by the Seal which is provided by the annular head 78bearing against the face of the other core.

Both ot the cores 2tland 63 preferably have a limited axial movement inthe metal shells i3 and 16 which contain them, and each of the cores 2Sand 68 is moved axially toward the other core oy the pressure of thesprings 65 to maintain a predetermined pressure of the annular bead 7Sagainst the face of the other core,

This annular bead 73 can be located on the core 2S, instead of theconnection illustrated, and beads of different cross section can be usedinstead of the substantially semi-circular one illustrated. It is notessential that the sealing means 7S be of one piece construction withone of the cores, but having it so is advantageous in that it eliminatesthe possibility of the connector being assembled without the sealingmeans between the cores. The connector can be made with only one of thecores axially movable and this is suiicient for maintaining the sealbetween them.

The preferred construction of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed, but changes and modications can be made without departingfrom the invention as delined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A pin and socket electrical connector comprising two sections, eachof which has a metal shell and a core within the metal shell, the metalshells having complementary end faces that clamp together to provideeicient radio shielding around the cores, threads on one of the shells,a flange projecting from the other shell, a clamping nut that bearsagainst the flange and screws over the threads to hold the complementaryend faces of the shells tightly clamped against one another for goodelectrical contact, shielding fittings at opposite ends of the metalshells for connecting the shielding of conductor cables to the metalshells, the'core withon one of the metal shells being slidable withrespect to the shell toward and from the core in the other shell,sealing means between the cores, and a spring between the slidable coreand the end fitting of the shell in which the core slides, said springbeing compressed when the tting is attached to the shell so as tomaintain a resulting pressure on the slidable core and on the sealingmeans between the cores substantially independent of the pressurebetween the end faces of the shells.

2. An electrical connector including a core that holds a plurality ofelectrical elements to which separate Wires are connected a different,sealing sleeve of resilient material surrounding each of the wires atthe region where the wire enters the core on its way to its connectionwith one of the electrical elements, a fitting at one end of theconnector for joining a shielding of the conductor cable with the metalshell, and common pressure 4transmitting means between the shieldingfitting and all of the sealing sleeves exerting pressure simultaneouslyagainst all the sealing sleeves to maintain them tightly sealed aroundtheir respective conductors.

3. An electrical connector of the pin-and-socket type, comprising a pinsection and a socket section, each of said sections including a metalsleeve and a core within the metal sleeve, at least one of the coresbeing slidable axially in its metal sleeve, sealing means betweenconfronting faces of the cores, electrical elements comprising pinsextending from the face of one core and sockets recessed below the endface of the other core, counter,- bores through which wires extend tothe electrical elements, a dierent sealing sleeve surrounding cach ofthe wires in the connector bores, a clamping plate that bears againstfaces of the respective wire sealing sleeves and that exerts pressurethrough the sleeves to the core and against the sealing means betweenthe cores, a fitting for connecting radio shielding of an electric cablewith the shell of the connector, spring means compressed between thefitting and the clamping plate so as to maintain a predeterminedsimultaneous pressure against all of the sealing sleeves and against theseal between the cores within the connector.

4. The electrical connector described in claim 3 and in which the coresin both sections of the electrical connector are axially slidable andthere are spring means on both ends of the connector urging the sealingsleeves into firm contact with the wires which they surround and alsourging the cores toward one another.

5. An electrical connector comprising a pin section and a socketsection, each section having a metal shell Ythat confronts acomplimentary end face of the other shellf` means connecting the metalshells together with their confronting faces pressed together in rmcontact with one another to provide radio shielding for the circuits ofconductors within the shells, cores of electrical insulating ma terialwithin the shells, the core located Within the metal shell of at leastone of the sections being slidable axially with respect to the metalshell toward a confronting face of the core of the other section,sealing means between the slidable core and said confronting face of theother section, the sealing means having a contact face of re# duced areato increase the pressure thereon, and a compressed element within one ofthe shells urging the slidable core toward said other section andagainst the sealing means with a pressure substantially independent ofthe pressure between the end faces of the shells.

6. An electrical connector comprising a pin section and a socketsection, each section having a metal shell with an end face thatconfronts a complementary end face of the other shell, means connectingthe metal Shells to one another with their confronting faces pressedtogether in firm contact with one another to provide radio shielding forthe circuits of conductors within the shells, cores of electricinsulating material within the shells including a core within the pinsection having an end face from which pins project and a core Within thesocket section having recesses within which sockets are located andhaving an end face through which the sockets open, at least one of thecores being slidable axially in the metal shell toward and from aconfronting face of the core in the other shell,

sealing means between the slidable core and the confronting face of theother core, the sealing means having a contact face of reduced arearadially outward from the areas of the end faces from which the pinsproject and through which the sockets open, and a spring located withinone of the shells and compressed between that shell and the slidablecore for urging the slidable core toward the confronting face of theother core with a pressure determined f References Cited in the iile ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS y Parker Oct. 27, 1925 1,559,3611,940,666 Diamond Dec. 26, 1933 2,047,126 Hastings July 7, 19362,066,770 Doane Ian. 5, 1937 2,383,926 White Aug. 28, 1945 2,396,872Miller et al. Mar. 19, 1946 2,419,018 Gudie Apr. l5, 1947 2,513,080Burtt June 27, 1950 2,521,056 Frei et al. Sept. 5, 1950 2,540,012 SalatiJan. 30, 1951 2,605,315 Hargett July 29, 1952 2,655,638 Allen Oct. 13,1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 589,623 Germany Dec. 11, 1933

